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Thursday, 3 March 2016

Avedon Warhol, Gagosian Gallery

May as well 'pop' down the road and look at some Warhole's, why not? It's free. That's one of the pleasure's of living in London and specifically, the part we're in, with the Gagosian gallery so close, but I confess I wouldn't pay much to see Avedon & Warhol...or travel far to do so, but we had nothing better to do...

"There's Gianni Agnelli!" I didn't cry. Instead, I became fixated on the detail once I'd read who it was. With warhol (spell check suggests 'warhorse') in particular I find the work so much more attractive in the flesh. The same could be said of all art, I know, but Warhols in a book are like photos in a book; flat, lifeless, perhaps suitably so considering his obsession with reproduction, the one-dimensionality, the mechanised, soulless image. But being able to see things like the Gianni Agnelli (1973) print up close, how the green ink kisses his chin and the cigarette is a double image was interesting...

...we know he's a great colourist and LJ got excited by the multiples of Miriam Davidson (1965), a case in point...

...I like this of Keith Haring (1983)...

...Avedon's photos I can take or leave. One wall was covered in small portraits for Rolling Stone (The Family), so we played who's who for a minute, failing to recognise more than we knew. Photo portraits bore me, especially the 'straight' shots, whereas at least with the Bianca Jagger photo there's inherent beauty. I hadn't seen Christ $9.98 (1985-1986) before. Seems fitting to place it alongside a 'holy' icon of the 20th century, with Truman Capote far left....

...I've had Gun (1981-1982) torn from an exhibition catalogue for years so it was good to see the real thing, bigger than I imagined...being a boy, I like guns...I like Warhol...a good combination...

...Dollar Sign (1981) might say it all about Warhol, the star fucker...I thought placing it near Mao (1972) was a nice touch, consciously or otherwise juxtaposing Pop tart iconography with the supposed cultural leveller of commie fascist workers' equality...

...be warned if you go, there's a huge Avedon portrait of The Factory crowd, some of whom are naked...quite disturbing, still, size is everything regarding some images, if not genitalia...but never mind the bollocks, the Warhols are worthwhile...